Suzhou, The Garden City

Suzhou

Well, the train trip from Xi'an was even longer than the first, 16 hours.... this time, a 6-berth! The top berth must have felt a little like a cocoon.... I don't know because I won the draw and got to sleep on the bottom! We boarded at 6pm and did not arrive in Suzhou until 10am the next morning! Constantinos, the Greek in our group, came down with a bug and was so sick! Not fun at all! He missed most of the day in the garden city.

Jim and I were really tired, but still able to get about. Jim went for a bicycle ride while I explored the streets of Jiangsu province's most popular town. They say the city has a population of almost 6 million, but it felt like a small town! It is famous for both its gardens and its silk industry and is one of the oldest towns of the Yangtze River Basin. Tradition says that He Lu, a semi-mythical ruler, founded Suzhou in 800 BC. Since then it has prospered from its position on the major trading route between the Song capital of Hangzhou and the Ming capital of Nanjing, especially after the completion of the Grand Canal. The town itself is built on a network of interlocking canals whose waters feed the renowned classical gardens that are the city's pride and glory. Suzhou's gardens reflect the true essence of a Chinese garden's "infinite riches in a little room". The designer works with rock, water, buildings, trees and vegetation to produce something very different to the western conception of a garden. The purpose is not to imitate life, but create a serious art form that aims to produce a setting for the contemplation of balance, harmony, proportion and variety in life. There have been gardens in Suzhou since the Song dynasty (over 1000 years).
Enough with the history...... I will post a couple of pictures from our boat ride down the canals of this wonderful city to help you understand why we liked this city the best of all our stops in China!

I haven't mentioned much about shopping, and it should be noted, that compared to a few of the couples in our group.... I was SOOOOO restrained! Then we hit Suzhou. I was still verrrry good, but it was difficult! The silk was amazing!

Our evening in town, we attended a cultural performance in the Garden of the Master of Nets, a taste of opera, traditional music and theatre. With the fairy lights on in the gardens, it had a magical feel and was a wonderful evening. Our guide for the night spoke very good English and explained each small performance beforehand so that we had an understanding of what we were seeing and hearing and helped to make it all that much better. The garden itself is a tiny, intimate garden started in 1140 and restored to its present layout in 1770 and is considered by connoisseurs to be the finest in Suzhou.

Jim and I had been sticking pretty well to our low-carb commitment but Suzhou's other claim to fame was more than our willpower could handle! The city has a long history in pastry making! And it was soooooo goooood! Back to it when we leave but, for a couple of days........ We enjoyed!
Only a day and a half in Suzhou and it was back on the train (this time just a couple of hours) and on to Shanghai! We are already talking about wanting to see more of China on a return visit, some of the south and the countryside, but any second visit will definitely include more time in this wonderful city!